The Board has reopened the claim for service connection for the cause of the Veteran’s death due to metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach and esophagus. The evidence is at least in equipoise as to whether these conditions are related to service, specifically the stress from combat in Vietnam.
The deciding factor: The Board found a private medical opinion linking the Veteran's esophageal and stomach cancer to his combat service, which raised a reasonable possibility of substantiating the claim.
- Claimed conditions
- metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach, adenocarcinoma of the esophagus
- How they argued it
- Direct service connection
- Exposure basis
- None
- Rating assigned
- None in this decision
- Decision date
- December 6, 2018
- Citation
- 18155814
This is a plain-language summary generated by AI from a public Board of Veterans’ Appeals decision. It can contain errors — always verify against the original. Look up the original decision on VA.gov (opens in a new tab) using citation 18155814.
What this means for you
A grant means the Board agreed the veteran was entitled to the benefit. Decisions like this show the kind of evidence and arguments that tend to succeed for claims like it.
What you can do next
Related decisions
Other Board decisions on a similar condition or argued the same way.
- Granted
The Board has determined that the Veteran's metastatic adenocarcinoma of the stomach is attributable to toxic exposure during service, and thus grants service connection for this condition.
- Denied
The Board denied the claim for service connection for cause of death due to a lack of evidence linking the Veteran's metastatic adenocarcinoma to his military service.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has remanded the case due to insufficient evidence regarding the Veteran's service in Hiroshima or Nagasaki, Japan, and a need for an opinion on whether his stomach cancer is related to service. The appellant was also asked to provide any medical records she may have.
- Remanded (sent back)
The Board has decided to remand the case due to a lack of opinion regarding whether the Veteran's cancer was caused by his exposure to herbicides in Vietnam.
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